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Peyton, Eli Manning hilariously pay tribute to Bill Belichick in final ManningCast appearance

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•01/13/25•

NickGeddesNews

Bill Belichick
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick made his final appearance on the Monday Night Football “ManningCast,” and brothers Peyton and Eli Manning made sure to send him out on a high note.

For the final two minutes of Belichick’s appearance during the NFC Wild Card Round game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, the two former quarterbacks wore special cut-off hoodies — a Belichick special.

“Bill, we’ve loved having you on the ManningCast this year,” Peyton said. “We wanted you to feel comfortable in your last ManningCast.”

But this wasn’t your typical cut-off hoodie. This one came with a twist — a Manning twist if you will. Eli revealed the hoodie to have a quarter zip as well, a staple of the Mannings.

“We’re sporting the Belichick cut-off hoodie, but these are special Belichick hoodies because they have a quarter zip,” Eli said. “But don’t worry, we’ll be sending a couple of these down to UNC. We’ll be expecting you to be wearing one next season.”

Belichick appreciated the gesture and thanked the Mannings for having him on for the first half of every “ManningCast” this season. Belichick vouched for Eli, a Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Modern-Era Player list finalist, to receive a Gold Jacket later this year.

“Thanks, guys. You guys were awesome,” Belichick said. “It was so much fun being on with you this year, I learned a lot. Eli, you don’t look good in a hoodie, but you’ll look great in a Gold Jacket and I’m sure that’s gonna happen and you deserve it so much to join Peyton in a Gold Jacket. You guys are fantastic.”

Bill Belichick off and running at North Carolina

With Belichick fulfilling his final media obligations, he now sets his entire attention to his first offseason as North Carolina head football coach. The eight-time Super Bowl champion is new to the collegiate game but has already hit the ground running on the recruiting trail.

Despite reports linking him to the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching vacancy, Tar Heels general manager Michael Lombardi insists Belichick is “completely committed” to building something special in Chapel Hill.

“Completely committed,” Lombardi said last week on The Pat McAfee Show. “One thousand percent committed. I know I — for coach Belichick and myself, those conversations — you know, look, guys that do the insider stuff for the NFL, they’ve gotta put stories out there. That one was a complete falsehood. Coach Belichick, when that story came out, was recruiting in South Jersey.

“And today he was at Bergen Catholic, one of the teams we watched play at Ocean City. You know, and he’s gone to the Hun School to recruit kids in Princeton. I mean, that story just had no legs.”